Who is patrick crawley in downton abbey

But Season 2 features a twist that could've changed everything. The second season takes place as World War I rages on, and several of the men of the household, including Matthew, have enlisted. At youngest daughter Lady Sybil's urging, Downton is temporarily converted into a convalescent home for recovering soldiers. One of those war wounded, identified as Major Patrick Gordon, arrives with his face and hands badly burned. He strikes up a friendship with Edith, and eventually reveals that he isn't Patrick Gordon but Patrick Crawley, the rightful heir and her former love interest.

Lady Mary and Lord Grantham are suspicious, because, after all, there's a title and everything that goes with it at stake. Lady Edith, on the other hand, wants to believe. Patrick claims he survived the shipwreck, but suffered from amnesia afterwards.

He ended up in Canada and assumed the name Gordon, and only recovered memories of his previous life when he was rocked by an explosion in combat. His burns make it impossible to verify his claims based on appearance or handwriting samples, and he knows things that the real Patrick Crawley ought to know. He can recall moments from his childhood at Downton, and shares a few of Patrick's physical mannerisms, which nearly convinces everyone that he's telling the truth.

Perhaps most convincingly, he professes his love for Edith and not Mary. When he was caught in the explosion — and burned so badly that he became unrecognizable — his memory came back. Edith relayed this to Lord Grantham, who interrogated the soldier himself.

And then he passed his fingers over his lips in a gesture Robert recognized as something Patrick used to do. Case closed, right? Robert gathered the family, including Matthew, Isobel, and Richard, for dinner to break the news. Criminal investigation? She — like her grandmother said later — was convinced that the Canadian was an opportunist using his unfortunate disfigurement to score a massive fortune.

Lowe did save a man who went unidentified. Robert, who repeatedly looked at Matthew during this whole business, never did get around to telling them about that hand gesture. Matthew, for his part, still insisted that the Canadian would be a better heir presumptive anyway — the soldier may be difficult to look at, but he can walk around the estate and sire a boatload of kids.

When Edith confronted the Canadian, he admitted to having been very close friends with Peter Gordon. Edith seemed sure it was the latter.

When he talked to Edith about the past, he always waited for her to fill in the blanks. Poor Edith. If you count Patrick, Anthony Strallan, the farmer, and Peter, that makes four heartbreaks for her in barely two seasons. At least Mary keeps getting hurt by the same guy. A miserable, wheelchair-bound Matthew has moved to the Abbey to be closer to the convalescent home and, therefore, only yards away from Mary.

Richard told Robert that he plans to buy a nearby 12,acre estate called Haxby Park so that Mary can stay close to Downton.

Pilfering a servant, we find out later, is a mark of bad breeding. But he still agreed to consider the move if Lady Mary approved. Then he suggested that she invite Lavinia back to Downton. And, what do you know, the girl mysteriously arrived a few days later.

Mary was stunned. Because Robert had no sons, James was heir presumptive to the Earldom , Downton Abbey , and family fortune, and thus was Patrick after him. Patrick worked for the Foreign Office. He often visited Robert's family at Downton Abbey while he was growing up, and was well regarded by the family and the servants. There was an understanding that he would wed Robert's eldest daughter, Lady Mary.

She however was indifferent to the idea of marrying Patrick, despite the family pressure. She remarked that she had been keeping him in check, in case a bigger fish came along. Lady Edith was in love with Patrick, but she never thought he knew.

Patrick and his father perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic , at the beginning of the series. Originally they were going to America in May , but then changed their plans and thus booked passage on the Titanic. A memorial was held for them both in London and then Downton , where many of the villagers came to show their respects.

Edith was quite sad after the memorial, but Mary told Sybil that her greatest sadness came from realizing that she did not feel as sad as someone ought to at such a time. Mary wanted to keep it secret that she and Patrick had an unofficial engagement since she would have had to stay in mourning dress longer as a fiancee, rather than just as a mourning cousin.

The Duke of Crowborough later came to Downton Abbey , ostensibly to present his condolences, but actually to court Mary.